§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether any information is available to him as a result of studies on the effects of parental unemployment on child mortality.
§ Mr. John PattenI am aware of one study* which showed a statistical association between mortality at the ages of 0–4 and the unemployment rate. The study does not demonstrate any casual link. The data used were for 1971. Since that date all child mortality in the 0–4 range has shown a considerable and steady trend downwards, by over 30 per cent.—from 4.08 per 1,000 population in 1971 to 2.73 in 1981.
* Association of childhood mortality with housing status and unemployment, M. E. Brennan and R. Lancashire. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. March 1978. Vol. 32 No. 1.